Improvement in mechanism for sawing off and straightening railway rails



CHARLES WHiLE & GEORGE WOSTENHOLM.

improvem en tjn Sawing ofl and Straightening Railway Rails.

No. 124,867. PatentedMarchi9,1872.

mtrwsses. fm/ emto 12s CHARLES WHILE, OF EAST ST. LOUIS, ILLINOIS, AND GEORGE WOSTENHOLM,

. OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN MECHANISM FOR SAWlNG OFF AND STRAIGHTENING RAILWAY RAILS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 124,867, dated March 19, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES WHILE, of East St. Louis, county of St. Clair, State of Illinois, and GEORGE WosrnNHoLM, of St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis and in the State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Carriages used in the Manufacture of Iron Rails or Bars; and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing mak ing a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a top plan view of our device, and Fig. 2 a side elevation of the same.

Like letters of like kinds denote corresponding parts in each figure.

In the present state of manufactures railroad rails and bars of iron or steel, after passing through the rolls, are conveyed to the saws or shears, where the ends are trimmed; and then,

after being straightenethare dragged or car- -ried by hand down the hot-bed, where they gradually cool.

Our invention consists in the devices acting consecutively for sawing, straightening, curving, and conveying the rails or bars. down the hot-bed, as more fully hereinafter described an d explained.

In the drawing, A represents thehot-bed, provided with longitudinal supporting-rails a and other rails, b, upon which the carriages B- in number one, two, or moreunited together or operating independently, and provided with suitable trucks 0, traverse back and forth. C are grooved pulleys at the front end of the hotbed, and C similar pulleys at its rear end, each secured upon proper journaled shafts D and D, over which pulleys pass chains E, which are attached to said carriages. Instead of these pulleys and chains, a rack or racks and pinicns may be employed. F is the straighteningplate, G the curving-plate, and H exhibits the trimming-saws.

In the operation of our device rails or bars which have passed through the rolls, which stand at right angles with our device, are delivered to the saws and trimmed, being left, after the trimming, upon the straighteningplate F, where they are properly straightened in the usual way. From this plate they are rolled over to the curving-plate G, where they are curved sufficiently to correct the excess of shrinkage, in cooling, in the top of the rail, and become perfectly straight when cool. From the curving-plate the rail is tipped over upon the carriage B and conveyed down the hotbed a sufficient distance, and then rolled over onto said bed, and there allowed to cool. Movement is imparted to the carriages by turning the shaft D by a crank, or by connecting the shaft D with operative power in the shop, or by pushing or drawing the carriages by any convenient means.

By the use of these carriages a boy is enabled to attend wholly to the conveyance of the rails or bars down the hot-bed, which, in the ordinary method, requires the labor of four or six men; and, in addition, the rail is not subject to the danger of flexure in the operation, as it is when carried or dragged by hand.

Having thus described our device and its manner of operation, what we claim as new therein and our invention, is-

Jointly, the devices herein described for sawin g, straightening, curving, and conveying rails or bars, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our hands this 9th day of October, 1871.

' CHARLES WHILE.

GEORGE WOSTENHOLM.

Vitne'sses Guns. D. MOODY, WM. TWINING. 

